Various scrubbing devices are known and available in the art. For instance, balls of polymer mesh have been used to scrub dishes, pans, other household items, and human skin. A scrubbing apparatus used for personal hygiene, commonly referred to as a polymer mesh puff is often used in cleansing the skin. These polymer mesh puffs are typically manufactured from one or more pieces of synthetic open cell mesh which are bound together and manipulated into a plurality of random folds to form a generally rounded shape, or puff. The open cell structure of the mesh advantageously forms a structure which effectively cleans the body, and from which dirt is easily rinsed and which dries relatively quickly. In addition, synthetic material is highly resilient, resulting in a puff which retains its shape throughout use. These puffs are formed by binding a piece of tubular mesh or a sheet of mesh about a centerpoint with a piece of string, and then forming a series of random folds about this centerpoint through various means of manipulation.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,196 to Barnhouse discloses a method for manufacturing a puff from an open cell mesh. A series of mesh sheets are stitched at a common center point and then fed through an alignment ring which separates the sheets into a generally circular profile. The sheets are next cut and compressed such that, during the compression phase, a series of folds are formed. A metallic staple is used to permanently fasten the folds together about a centerpoint.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,744 to Campagnoli, incorporated by reference herein, discloses another method for manufacturing a puff from a polyethylene mesh having a diamond cell structure. The tubular mesh is stretched in a direction transverse to its longitudinal axis (i.e. stretched transverse to the theoretical centerline of the tube). The stretched tube is then mounted between a pair of opposing curved supports. The tube is then bound at a centerpoint along its transverse axis and is selectively released from the supports such that the end result is a substantially spherical cleansing implement, formed by a series of random folds of mesh material.
With regard to the structure used for binding the tube of mesh, Campagnoli generically teaches the use of a "plastic strip" for binding. One type of "plastic strip" used for this purpose is a plastic, ratchet type, cable-tie device. These tie devices are typically used for arranging and binding bundles of wires or cables in the electrical industry, binding plants in agriculture, or for closing sacks, bags and similar objects. Typically, these tie devices consist of a toothed band for encircling the objects to be bound and a locking head having a pawl, or similar internal locking structure, for securing the band in place. Although suitable for binding polymer mesh puffs, the use of these tie devices as mesh binding members can pose several problems. These problems include a potential for abrasion and injury (e.g., cutting, scratching or scraping the user) from sharp edges or protrusions on the plastic strip after the tail end of the toothed band is trimmed off.
In addition to the use of plastic strips, it is well known in the art to use a fabric or synthetic cord, such as string or twine, for binding a polymer mesh puff. However, these fabric cords have a tendency to disintegrate or rot over time from the cyclical wetting and drying of the cord during use, and frequently come unraveled resulting in a short useful life of a puff. Cords also come unraveled because of improper knotting during manufacture, and because it is difficult to tie a tight knot and retain tightness as the knot is secured. Polymer mesh puffs which exhibit the above-described characteristics are generally undesirable because consumers become dissatisfied with the products.
Hence, there has been an unaddressed need for a mesh binding member which can permanently secure a mesh puff about a centerpoint without causing injury to the user. More specifically, the mesh binding member should be free of any sharp surfaces which might be capable of cutting, scratching, abrading, or otherwise undesirably contacting the user while adequately encircling and binding the polymer mesh puff so that its shape will be maintained.